It was Hamlet meets The Sopranos on motorcycles, but to simply trivialize Sons Of Anarchy as such would marginalize the show. It High octane melodrama, coupled with a bit of the ultra-violence reserved for R-rates crime thrillers. It was a grandiose Soap Opera for dudes who had gotten tired of what the meandering soap that is WWE had become. At the time the series premiered in 2008, there were few other testosterone-fueled shows like this on TV.

Before The Walking Dead was shattering ratings records every season, Sons Of Anarchy was doing the same. They were garnering a fan base that was as loyal as the fictional club members; as the show spoke to the entire outlaw culture. As well as the biker culture at large. Between real Club guys, people who just love to ride, fans of unbridled masculinity, or just fans of good TV melodrama; Sam Crow was able to touch a lot of fans.

For six seasons, creator Kurt Sutter and his crew tried to explore small-town rural America through the eyes of these Hell’s Angels sort of men. He even cast several real-life One Percenters to play a part in his tale. He based the entire story off Shakespeare’s Hamlet, cast his wife, Katey Sagal as one twisted woman; she tore down ever typecast of Peg Bundy that was left in her. The Club dabbled in fun runs, adult entertainment, and all the while Jax was trying to make his band of brother criminals 100% legit.

Sometimes, the writers didn’t always get things right - here are 20 Storylines The Writers Want Us To Forget About Sons Of Anarchy.

Jax’s Sister

Jax has a chat with Trinity after learning that she is his half-sister

After defeating a bunch of white supremacists, a rogue IRA member took Jax’s son and hightailed back to Ireland. After pulling a few strings, the Sons were on their way to the Emerald Isle as well to get Jax’s boy back and settle some scores. SAMCRO isn’t alone, they’re being helped by their Irish chapter SAMBEL, and a young lady Trinity, who’s taken a shine to Jax.

Gemma realizes that Trinity is actually John Teller’s daughter with a woman he met in Ireland, making Jax and Trinity siblings. She doesn’t tell either of them - but Trinity and storyline thread of Sons founder, John in Ireland are never brought up again.

Forgiving Tig

Kim Coates as Tig Trager in Sons of Anarchy

During the first season of the series, and most seasons, the club is being investigated by some sketchy law enforcement agent who has axes to grind. High up on that list would have to be Agent June Stahl. Perhaps worst among her crimes was convincing the Club that she had flipped Opie.

When Clay found out, he instructed Tig to end him. Opie has switched cars with his wife Donna when Tig went to do the hit and ended his wife instead. Somehow Opie forgave the guy and put the blame squarely on Clay. Sure, the president put it all in motion, but anyone that claims they wouldn’t seek retribution on the trigger man is lying to themselves.

The Homeless Woman

Homeless Woman in Sons of Anarchy

Every so often, generally when ether Jax or Gemma were fraught with some sort of difficult decision; a homeless woman would appear. She’s not necessarily germane to any of the series plots. However, showing up in trying times means she’s someone right?

Some fans have thought she’s the ghost of Emily Putner, the woman accidentally ended when John Teller was. Kurt Sutter has stated that she’s Jesus. As far as the show is concerned, you show a character enough in weird spots, you ought to explain her. Sutter didn’t within the context of the show, leaving her a mystery.

No One Thinks About Gemma

She had orchestrated just about every insane thing that the Sons had gotten themselves into. For cryin’ out loud she kept her own incident a secret until it was useful information for her to use to unite Jax and Clay. When she thought Tara was going to turn evidence and leave with her grandkids, she eliminated Tara with a BBQ fork in one of the show’s most tragic moments.

With all of the motives in the world and as smart as Jax had always been portrayed, somehow she was overlooked. Even as she started a war by implicating the Chinese, even as Juice volunteered to help her. Not necessarily abandoned, but still a glaring plot hole.

Zobelle’s Escape

Ethan Zobelle in Sons of Anarchy

In a lot of ways, the second season of the show truly established just how bananas the series would get. It started with Jax and Clay at odds, Gemma attacked, and a group of skinheads had moved into Charming. They were led by Ethan Zobelle, and eventually betrayed him as well.

However, just as the Sons could get to him, they realized the IRA took Jax’s son, Abel. Zobelle was last seen escaping on a plane, never to be seen in Charming or on the series again.

 the school

When some storylines are written, they seem to be written with a broader stroke in mind. When a young boy grabbed a gun that was sold by the Sons and shot up the school, it really rocked viewers. In what has become a real-world pandemic, the show tried to tackle this issue. Bear in mind, Sandy Hook had just happened.

Someone must’ve gotten cold feet on the matter though. Jax simply turned himself in for the crime and was let go almost as quick. There wasn’t enough evidence to link him to the crime. What seemed like a big huge plot for the upcoming season was reduced to a minor subplot.

Lee Toric

Lee Toric Sons of Anarchy

Lee Toric came seeking retribution for his sister’s passing. Toric was making Otto’s life in prison far worse than it already was. Using his connections as opposed to the actual law, Toric was twisting the knife in deeper into the Sons organization.

Logue and Kurt Sutter were good friends behind the camera, and Logue was coming in not just because he wanted to, but because he was doing his boy a solid. But when the shooting schedule of Logue’s main show, Vikings came calling, Logue had to leave. Toric, who had been written to have a much longer season, was written off really quick and his character was left fairly unexplained.

Original Clay

Ron Pearlman did such a good job as Clay Morrow that the fans were able to hate the guy and at the same time feel sorry for him too. However, that marriage between actor and character wasn’t always meant to be. Actor Scott Glenn (Daredevil) was originally cast in the role.

No, that’s not the plot hole. But what the show’s creative team might want you to forget is that in certain shots of the Pilot episode, Glenn is in the frame. If you’re eagle-eyed enough, you can catch Glenn running away from a burning building.

The End Of Hale

Deputy Chief David Hale was the squeaky-clean antithesis of not only Jax, who he grew up with, but his own boss Unser as well. That’s why he was nicknamed Captain America, by the Chief. However, as much as he disagreed with Unser’s treatment of the Club and the Club itself, he did start to see the benefits of the Sons operating in Charming. In theory, they keep the crime out since they’ll conduct that business outside the town limits.

However, just as Hale was about to ascend becoming the Chief and perhaps working with the group, he was gunned down at a member’s funeral. He was a victim of the actor wanting to leave the show, there was no telling what Sutter might have had in store for him.

Kozik, Tig, And The Girl That Got Away

The Shield was creator Kurt Sutter’s previous show that he worked on. So he tried to get some of his friends from that show a role in his series. Kenneth Johnson, who played Curtis on The Shield was tapped to play MC member, Kozik. He wanted to patch over to SAMCRO from his current chapter, but Tig vehemently was opposed.

The tension at first had fans wondering what girl came between the two burly bikers. When it was revealed that it was actually a dog that came between the two, their rivalry became comic relief. When Kozik was ended, the storyline was too, without any real resolution.

What Happened To Potter?

While the shaggy long hair, beard, and brown leather jacket made Lincoln Potter seem like a man out of time, he was still a formidable foe for the Sons Of Anarchy during the fourth season. The guy was as quirky as he was cunning and had even flipped Juice against the Club.

Out of all of the rogue agents that the Sons had to deal with, Potter was the strangest. Even stranger was his exit from the series. Without any provocation, he slipped up on bagging the crew on a RICO case, and left the show because of it.

Outdated Club Rules

Juice being interrogated by AUSA Potter Sons of Anarchy

Thanks to Potter and Roosevelt’s meddling, they were able to convince Juice to flip on the MC. All based on the notion that either of them would let the Club know that he was half black. Apparently, there was an outdated Club rule that stated no blacks were allowed in the Sons. While writing a show like this, anything could have happened – it would have been a humongous drastic shift in character if his brothers no longer accepted him because of this. However, it did lead up to all of the drama that was in Juice’s life.

One would think that Juice could have pulled Jax aside and clued him in and the two could have come up with a plan. It just seems like a story thread that was never tugged on and should have been.

Honor Amongst Thieves?

Every single season of the series featured all kinds of spinning plates in the sky. At the heart of it were the Sons and predominantly Jax making all kinds of deals, that hung at the edge of the knife. The IRA, the Niners, the Grims, the Mayans, the Cartels, the Feds, you name the crew or law enforcement agency and chances are they were in bed with the Sons at some point.

Most of the time to awful results. However, for some strange reason, they all would jump right back into bed with the Club again. Why not? It was their show after all. There doesn’t seem to be any other logical reason for it.

What Becomes Of Abel And Thomas?

The final season of the series featured a very batcrap but key plot point- young Abel had overheard his grandmother’s confession that she had eliminated Tara. With the tension mounting on the Club and Abel hurting himself at school, he and dad had a heart to heart where all was finally revealed.

However, what wasn’t revealed would be the fate of Abel and Thomas. Sure, they were taken in by Nero and Wendy, but Abel also has his father’s rings. It might have been nice to get a flash forward scene of an adult Abel and Thomas since so much of Jax’s plans to get out of the life were for his boys.

Juice – Hacker Extraordinaire

Sons of Anarchy Juice

In later seasons, Juice would be kept under thumb by Potter and Roosevelt. Then Jax and Gemma separately. Until his end at the hands of Ron Tully via Jax, Juice was obviously in a very dark place. It was an interesting twist for a normally jovial character.

All of the darkness stemmed from Potter’s threat to expose Juice’s African-American heritage to the Club. You would think that with a guy like Juice, it would have been a non-issue. The guy could have used his exceptional computer skills to find some dirt on Potter and reach an impasse. But his skills as a computer geek diminished as the story demanded it.

Whatever Happened To John Teller?

John Teller in Sons of Anarchy

The entire series hinged on a backstory that was told in vague monologues by the characters that were around before the show began. Club founder and President, John Teller wanted SAMCRO to be more of a Hippie Commune Of traveling gypsies than a gun running band of outlaws.

For most of the series, it was always believed that JT was eliminated at the hands of Clay and Gemma. However, one of JT’s most trusted allies suggested that John tampered with his own bike and ended himself. That left it now up to viewers to decide what exactly happened.

Did You Know Tara’s A Doctor?

Sons Of Anarchy was not a medical drama by any means. But occasionally, a member of the MC needed to get medical attention, so it was off to Charming’s medical facility. Tara worked there as a pediatric doctor and always agreed to help the Club, no wound was too great.

However, even a small town like Charming, all of these questionable and nefarious bikers rolling into a pediatric hospital would raise all kinds of eyebrows, especially when the Sons attract all sorts of law gunning for them. Somehow, Tara is seldom to never questioned in regard to her or any of her dealing with Club wounds.

The Deal With Marks

As if plot threads on Sons Of Anarchy weren’t unabashedly convoluted enough, there seemed to always be some sort of land deal going on in Charming. Zobelle tried to pull some nonsense to bring more of his skinhead buddies into town. Hale almost had Charming Heights in his grasp until Lincoln Potter ruined that deal.

Then there was August Marks. Marks was Damon Pope’s right hand until Pope met his end by the Sons. He had made a deal with the crew to help get ownership of Church property. But after framing him, sending him to prison, and eliminating the guy, nothing was ever mentioned about this thread again.

Unser’s Diagnosis

Wayne Unser waits for Stahl's vehicle carrying Jimmy O

There is an old adage in writing - ‘Chekhov’s Gun.’ Essentially if you introduce a concept (ie: a gun) in one act, then it better get used in the next act. While that can be said didn’t happen for just about every item on this list, Unser’s Cancer Diagnosis takes the cake.

The storyline was mentioned, and from that point forward Unser was seen as even more of an underling for SAMCRO. However, past watching smoke the occasional joint, this was seldom revisited for the dramatic purposes the show could have mined it for.

Chibs’ Cop Tryst

SAMCRO member Chibs and Sheriff Jarry in Sons of Anarchy

Since the very first episode, Chibs has been a loyal member of the Club and a popular character on the show. As the series ends, he became president of the Club. During the show’s final season, he struck up a relationship with Althea Jarry; San Joaquin’s newest sheriff. While she did generally want to do good by her position, she and Chibs couldn’t stay away from one another.

While the couple was ridiculous, it was even more so when the whole thing was just abandoned after one parking garage love scene, we didn’t get anything else about the pairing.

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Are there any other storylines in Sons of Anarchy that you want to forget? Let us know in the comments!